Did I really make it to Kunming? ;-)

My last day in Sanya was a beatiful one. 30 degrees and the sun was shining. So I went to the beach, a Chinese beach. And that means when the Chinese make something their own, they add tons of kitsch. Yep, floating tyres, airmatrasses, floating bubbles, pedalboats, parasailing, hawaiian outfits... it was all there. I for one have never seen a beach turned into an adult playground like the one in Sanya. It was hilarious. Except maybe the big telelens camera's pointing in my direction... that was more uncomfortable than hilarious. But in the end it was worth it. At night we had a little birthday celebration for one of the other guests at my hostel and we ended up going to the beach at midnight watching the fireworks! A perfect ending to my sunny day!

Friday was the day I was gonna get off the Island. I got that busticket out from Haikou and so all I had to do was go to the East busstation at 6pm where my bus would leave at 7pm. Easy! Or so I tought.

You see, getting to Hainan was very easy. I took a nighttrain in Guangzhou and when we got to the sea, they loaded the whole train on a ferry bringing us across to the Island. Yeah, it was a bit stormy that day, but in the end I didn't have to do anything except stay in bed and get off in Haikou trainstation. I figured that once I get on that bus, it would be smooth sailing like that again. Little did I know! ;-)

Noon in Sanya I decided to already catch a train to Haikou. Way to early, but something told me it's better to be early than late. When I got to the trainstation there were hundreds of people waiting at the ticket office. I see a short line, not sure why nobody is taking that one, but I go. The military agents waiting in that same line just smile at me and one even allows me to go first. I don't know if I'm actually allowed to be in that line, but it saves me a whole lot of waiting! Haha! And when soldiers are okay with it... who will dare to say something! ;-)

It turns out all the trains are full and the one at 4:15 pm is the earliest one I can take. That means I won't get to Haikou till 5:40 pm. That's close, but I figure if I take a taxi everything will be okay. When I arrive in Haikou I'm first out the train, I run downstairs to the taxistand and nope... nobody wants to take me. What is wrong? I can't ask anyone, they can't explain it to me, so there is only one solution: keep trying. I wave my ticket around and taxi after taxi signals me 'no' untill finally one stops and he will take me for 40 yuan. A rip-off, but I have to get there... now! It's 6 pm, so no time to waste. But how do you explain that you are already late when you don't speak a common language. The bastard picks up two more people and drops them off first. I see 6:30 pm on the clock and all kinds of disaster scenarios start popping up in my head. I will be stuck here till tuesday, I'm gonna have to pay hundreds of euros for a planeticket... pfff, just hurry! Hurry? The driver asks to see my ticket again because he's not quit sure where he has to take me. Are you kidding me? I think my heart just skipped a beat... Finally at 6:48 pm he drops me off at a place that could be a busstation. I run to the entrance and see at least 100 people in front of me in a line. No, I'm not gonna make it. A chinese man looks at my ticket and starts talking to me pointing in a different direction and he finally brings me to a policeofficer that points towards a bus parking lot. They both actually look more nervous than me now, yelling and pointing in that direction. So I rush there and start making my way in between the busses. It's like a videogame. The busses are parked so close to each other that sometimes I have to go back 'cos my backpack can't get through. I ask drivers the way showing my ticket and they all point to the front of the busstand. What? All I can come up with is that my bus left and is somewhere in this lot, so I have to look for it, and how do you do that not reading Chinese?! Finally the driver of the first bus points at a small building on the right that has 2 busses parked in front of it. Hallelujah! I think...

No, it's not my bus. So where is my bus? I don't know because they keep explaining me in Chinese, and all I can understand is that I have to wait there. It's 7:05 pm... wait for what? The next bus, tomorrow? There's nothing else to do but to just stay there now, at least so I can calm down a bit and think of a solution. But finally at 7:20 pm they all start laughing and pointing... my bus has arrived! Time to go! Time to go? Really, that easy? Pff, think again!

I meet my 'group'; 6 giggling girls, 12 giggling boys, 2 women, 6 men and me, the tourist! Yep, they all have to laugh and have a closer look at me before we can proceed. Ha! We get a ticket and in group we have to leave the bus. It turns out this is not a busstation, but the ferry terminal. And so I skipped all checkpoints and stuff, but everything is okay, I can join them now. At least now I know why they were all laughing when I finally arrived! They tought I got lost because I didn't get on where they got on. Silly tourist! ;-)

We have to board the ferry on foot and then on the mainland the bus will pick us up again. Okay, let's go then. And we're off to the ferry... passport check first... me holding up the line because I'm the only one with a 'weird' passport, and then we reach the waiting room. Yep, the biggest waiting room I've ever seen in my life. I'm not kidding, there is sitting space for at least 1200 people and the people standing must be at least the same amount. WHAT??? They all go first and then we go, they tell us that we might have to wait an hour or two, but it turns into 4,5 hours. It isn't till midnight that we can go!

It's just crazy. Nobody seems to be bothered by this, they are extremely patient and every time a ferry leaves, the passengers have to stand in 2 straight lines. Like in the playground in school, and everybody does it. Talk about obedience!! Unbelieveable!

Me, I've got 3 guardian Angels. 3 men in their fourties are watching out for me. They call me when it's time to move, they point me to a seat on the ferry, they show me where I can smoke... no, we don't 'speak but there's a whole lot of 'communication' going on!

2 am we reach the other side and my eyes are heavy. We wait for the bus and of course ours is the one that gets stuck with the bottom on the boat... it's too close to the ground and they have to use extra boards to elevate it. There's a crowd looking at the dent, but I can't be bothered. Please, let me get on the bus and go go go!!! I sleep the whole way through and at 9 am we reach Nanning.

Cold, raining, even less English signs than before... what to do?! Well, first of all I'm getting my ticket to Kunming, leaving as soon as possible. I get a taxi and this time they are so sweet. I always show my destination in Chinese in the Lonely Planet and here it takes 3 of them to tell each other where to go, even the police gets involved! Well, it's not every day that you can get up close to a Westerner here! :-D

And then the trainstation. I wait in line, only 45 minutes and when I ask 'today' 'kunming'... she tells me '100 yuan' 'standing'... WHAT? That's 12 hours of standing! I want to get to Kunming, but standing up for 12 hours? No way, so I start waving and somehow she gets my point and says I can still go 'first class'. For 288 yuan! Oh yeah, give me that ticket!

My God, only 6 more hours and I'll be on that train to Kunming. I spend the day walking around in Nanning, finally buying a warm jacket. The eskimo-look is in fashion right now and when I bump into a real bargain, only 10 euro, I finally look just like them. Or well, a bit more like them. Nanning is sweet. Twice people come up to me to "Welcome in China! Hope you have nice time!" And no, they are not selling anything or want something from me. They could be spies for the Party... who knows, letting me know they are following me?! Ha! I don't care. How many countries have you been to where the people in the street come up to you to welcome you in their country?! How many?! No, none!! Only in China! And while I'm waiting for the train this familly starts feeding me mandarins and dried meat, which I decline, but they are so sweet. When I put on my backpack grandma is the first one to help me. She's 1.5 meter, bent from working too hard, at least 75 years old... but she helps me with my backpack! Adorable! ;-)

The trainride is smooth and earlier than expected I arrive in Kunming. It's 5 in the morning and all I have to do is go to the hostel. Eeeuh, it's dark and cold and early. So I have something to eat first and when it's 6:15 am I finally take a taxi to the hostel. Or at least, I was really close. The taxi dropped me off in the street but no hostel in sight. I start asking to the nightguards and in a fancy hotel, but no one seems to know this hostel. Goddamned! It's cold, I'm tired, this is a bit creepy. So I decide to rest in a breakfast restaurant and wait for the sun to rise. Finally at 8 o'clock I find it. I was so close all morning, but that little corner is the one I didn't turn... Well, I'm here, finally and... they're full?! Pfff, I just can't be bothered right now. First breakfast and coffee! When I ask them to call another hostel, they find me a bed! Now, I can relax! I have arrived in Kunming! I'm not hurt, not robbed, I'm still alive... a bit tired and full of stories, but I feel very good! Once again I made it without Chinese and the Chinese did nothing less than show me respect, take care of me and help me in any way they can!!

Everything seems to change, except the food...

This is my second trip in China and I'm happy I came back. A lot has changed since that time and it's almost like you can "see" changes happening, that's how fast it is all going. China is gradually opening up its borders and their economy is booming. It's unbelieveable to see how rich some Chinese people are. If you wander around in the malls, the prices are the same as Europe, but more customers are spending! Also tourism is growing, and right now China focusses primarely on Chinese tourism. They have money to spend and where better to do that than in China, their own country. Who needs the rest of the world?! ;-)
So the rich are getting richer in China just like in the rest of the world, but the poor are starting to benefit too. Although they have to fight for it! The worker is becoming rare in China and therefor more powerful; the population is very old and for every 3 people that retire, there is only 1 to take it's place. So if three factories want you, you'll go to the one paying the most. And that is where China is right now. Workers are becoming rare and so they get to pick the factory where they want to work. So the wages are going up and there is some kind of competition going on between the factories. Another issue for the industry is finding 'skilled' people. Apparently China doesn't really give any importance to the quality of what they manufacture, it just has to be cheap. But because of various situations in the past, giving China a bad reputation (the poisonous plastic for children's toys, bad milk...) the factory owners are becoming more carefull, especially when it comes to export. You see, the party doens't order them to produce better quality, but everybody knows what happens if you damage their reputation abroad! Now, to do that, they need skilled people and they have to pay for that. So working class is slowly becoming what we would consider the middle class. It's early days yet, but changes can't be stopped!

I know China has problems with Human Rights, but I have to admit that it is not the communist Island where all the peasants walk around in their Mao-uniform. Those days are over and the government is acknowledging this. If there is one advantage they have over most other countries, it's that they have long term vision. And of course the ability to stay in power long enough to change that vision into reality. I think China is exactly where it is supposed to be and exactly where the government wants it to be. It seems like an impossible task to manage a country of 1.3 billion people, but they are doing it in China and many Chinese think they are doing a good job. I almost feel guilty for saying something good about the Chinese government, but I can not deny that the situation is not as black and white as international media and politics proclaim.  

Western tourism is growing a bit too, but most Westerns come here to study or teach or do business. The 'pure' tourist like me is rather rare. One obvious reason for that is the lack of English, still. Chinese just don't speak it. Even when they are able to read and write and they learn it in school or at the university... they have a big problem speaking it. But there are ways to cope with that. It's amazing how creative you become in finding other ways to interact. I always prepare myself and have stuff written down in Chinese by others or I show people the Chinese in the Lonely Planet, I use my hands, face and body a lot, I even use mimicking sounds... everything that helps, and I get by! I really do. Most other Westerns don't really understand how I can cope without Chinese. Untill they tag along with me for a day and then they see how well I can 'interact' with them. I guess it is a lot easier with a bit of Chinese, but it's not impossible without! ;-)
I do have to admit that in Haikou I was very, VERY happy that 2 Chinese-speaking guys accompanied me in my search for a way off this island. When I arrived in Haikou someone trying to leave, found out that EVERY ferry is fully booked untill the 24th. The Chinese New Year is coming to an end and so everybody is keen on getting back home to work or to go to school. So that would mean, you can not get off this Island untill the 24th. Except flying. Now, I don't like flying and it became so expensive over the past few days, that I wanted to go and search for another 'way out'! We went to a trainticket office and there they told us everything was full. Even flight tickets were no longer available for the days that I wanted to leave. Finally we found a small busticket office and there she told me everything was full, for thursday. But here comes the typical Chinese part... Chinese people have not learnt to think for themselves. They lack creativity and flexibility. So if you ask if you can buy a busticket off the Island... they will not tell you what your possibilities are. They will ask you 'where' you want to go, 'when' you want to go, 'how' you want to go... and if you ask them a very concrete question, they will be able to answer with 'yes' or 'no'. So I asked first if I could go on Thursday... No. Maybe Wednesday... No. Friday... Hallelujah, we have a winner! Yes. I could buy a ticket for Friday! Now all of this takes a lot of talking and thank God I had friends to do that for me. If I had been alone, maybe I would have managed, but it would have taken me more than just one hour.

 

Right now I'm still in Hainan, but in the Southern part. I was up North first, but it was very cold and rainy there. I got sick there, coughing and fever, because I didn't really have any warm and dry clothes. Now in Sanya it's at least hot, 27 degrees. The sun is playing hide and seek, but it's so warm that you spend all your time outside anyway.

Tonight is the last night of the New Year. It ends with the first full moon and apparently that is tonight. There will be BBQ's everywhere and here in the hostel they are getting ready for some party. I' ve got my earpluggs ready, because there is gonna be some heavy fireworks all through the night! ;-)

And talk about BBQ, if there is one thing the Chinese are not giving up, it's their food. They seem to be nibbeling on something ALL the time. Their mouths chew even when they are talking or sleeping. Wether it's a piece of meat or fruit or beans... they always have something in their hand or pocket. They've got some really weird stuff to eat here and despite the disapproval from the international community, they still have dog, turtle, monkey and other animals on their menu. It's been their menu for ages and they are not giving it up. I still haven't tried any dog, but some crazy girl from Shanghai took us out to dinner in Guangzhou and she fed me all kinds of intestines, stomach, liver... I was the only one who was willing to try and the Chinese loved it! And I have to admit some things tasted pretty good. I'm looking forward to seeing what the BBQ has to offer tonight! :-D

Delhi - Hong Kong - China

I left India two weeks ago and as expected that didn't go without ups and downs, extreme pleasure mixed with extreme anger... but I'll save you the details. Let's just say I left Delhi the way you're supposed to leave it, the way India is! Haha!

On Saturday morning I arrived in Hong Kong; bright lights, big city! But what struck me the most was just how clean everything was there! Waw! Not even any cigarette butts on the street. Well, you would have to be crazy to throw it on the street because the fine is 150 euro. But it seems to work!

Also I got to experience the friendliness of the people within the first hour after arriving. My plane landed at 6 in the morning and I knew I had to take a bus to Tsim Sha Tsui, the neightbourhood where the hotel is. But typically me, I forgot to write down the address or a description of the route. So what to do at 7 in the morning? I finally found an internet shop and when I entered it was packed with teenagers who apparently had been playing online games since the night before. Yep, it was a special friday-night-deal. You play 12 hours for only 30 HKdollar. Some of them were sleeping behind the computer, others were still going strong! The manager asked me WHY I would want to use a computer that early and when I explained I had to find my hotel, he looked up everything for me, wrote it down, pointed it out on a map and told me where to go. I spent a few more minutes talking to him and when I left, I didn't have to pay him at all. He was happy to help! Wow, this definitely is NOT India any more! ;-D

I stayed a week in Hong Kong and it was the perfect "break"! After 3 months of traveling on my own (except the times I really got to know people), I got a visitor! Yep, my friend Niema came to visit me from Belgium. Seeing a familiar face was amazing and just for a week, it made me feel a little bit more like home. And though we didn't do that much, for me it was the perfect mixture of pleasure, culture and lazyness. A real holiday! Yep, I didn't even have to talk to new people, I talked to Niema every now and then so he wouldn't get bored, but there was no pressure... haha! ;-) 

Yes, maybe I should explain myself.... we TRIED to do a lot, but stuff got in the way with our plans every now and then. It was Chinese New Year and so everybody has time off to spend with their families. And Chinese love doing all the stuff tourists do, so the crowds were huge everywhere we went. We skipped the Buddha on Lantau Island and went to the beach instead. We skipped Macau because ferries were overbooked. But in the end, I had fun and enjoyed every minute of my "break"!

 

After a week it was time for me to 'hit the road' again and so after saying goodbye to Niema (sniff), I was on my way! I crossed the border to China on Saturday night and my first stop was Shenzhen. A bit sad to be on my own again, I soon found new company when I arrived at the Youth Hostel. And after a beer I fell asleep like a baby!

Shenzhen was worth while. It's a strange city. In just 30 years the number of inhabitants went from 800.000 to 14 million today! So this is one of those 'new cities'. It's a mixture of modern architecture, capitalist surroundings and worker neighbourhoods. Most people move to Shenzhen because of work and they live in big skyscrapers, all piled up together. The stretch of land between Shenzhen and Guangzhou is about 200 kilometres of factory after factory. It is one of the most industrialised areas in China. My next stop was Guangzhou, so on the train there I got to see that street of factories. A bit weird to think a government can just move people around, but on the other hand the people themselves don't seem to mind. At least, that's what they tell me...They all seem to be very, very proud of China as a nation. Maybe you can't critisize the government, but apart from that they consider China one of the most free countries in the world. And for them the most important thing is that everybody is equal! Well, I haven't made up my mind yet about China. For that I have a lot more traveling to do, but it is very refreshing to be treated equal again as a woman! After India that is for me the biggest change here in China. People smile at me and talk to me and invite me... I feel good here!

I'm now still in Guangzhou which is surprisingly a very interesting city. I had to pass through herre to go to my next destination, Hainan. But I decided a few days and I'm glad I did. Maybe because of the Asian Games that were held here a little while ago, but this city is clean and friendly and the architecture is super! There are old parts with the typical hutongs (little Chinese houses), there is a European area with beautiful, old, colonial buildings and you have the new modern buildings and lightshows... at night I took a river cruise and you don't even have enough eyes to see everything that is going on on the banks! Apart from that I visited White Cloud Mountain and that little bit of exercise did me good! I went to the biggest, Buddhist temple here, an old familly-village and the tea market. There is soo much to see and to do, and only so many hours in a day. I feel like there is more to explore, but tonight I'm taking the nighttrain. The weather turned really cold again here in Guangzhou and so I'm really happy that by tomorrow morning I'll be in Hainan. The most tropical part of China and with the freshest air! Finally!